NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 155: The Bishops: His Excellency Merlin Has Worked Himself Bald! (Two in One)_2
What angered Merlin was that the Angel actually judged An Su's soul to be more handsome than his own!
Damn it.
The God of Law Merlin had never suffered such a preposterous humiliation.
It wasn't that he was narcissistic; Merlin considered himself not narcissistic, but rather more honest.
So far, he had not encountered anyone better looking than himself.
If someone insulted his magic level, the God of Law would just laugh it off, but insulting his soul was something he couldn't tolerate.
There was something fishy about this.
He even had the impulse to reopen Heaven's Gate for An Su, letting him summon the Angel back again.
Everyone would have a fair and just rematch.
But then, thinking of the hard-won beautiful hair he had managed to keep, His Excellency Merlin forcefully suppressed that thought.
An Su slowly exhaled, recovering from that overwhelming weakness; his gaze fixated on Merlin, pupils suddenly constricting, heart tightening, wanting to say something.
But how powerful was the God of Law's silencing magic,
An Su opened his mouth, but no sound could come out, only somewhat frantic 'woo woo' noises could be heard as he extended a finger, pointing at His Excellency Merlin.
"I know you have a lot of questions, don't rush,"
Seeing An Su in such an awkward state, Merlin was quite pleased.
It was a sense of vengeance fulfilled.
"Like the Guardian Angel, whether Heaven really exists, what lies behind Heaven's Gate, why the Esoteric Religion and the Orthodox Church are vying for this world..."
Merlin said cheerfully, enjoying the expressions on An Su's face, "but I am not planning to tell you."
"Woo... woo," An Su still uttered woozily.
Merlin had no intention of lifting An Su's silence.
Lest this naive newborn say something to infuriate him all over again.
One-sided verbal output was a pleasure reserved for those in authority.
...An Su fell silent, choosing compliance.
"When you return, start preparing for your advancement to deacon in a month,"
Merlin said expressionlessly, "Princess Milton's understanding of magic is not inferior to yours—and her magical Rank is higher than yours."
There was something else he hadn't told An Su.
Under arrangements made by the Church and the royal family, Cersei Milton had already been designated as the sole disciple of the Archmage, and they had met a few days prior.
However, An Su had popped out, and not only that, but he had also solved the problem Merlin had set, making the situation quite delicate.
The intention of His Excellency the Archmage was just to send him away, not expecting it to backfire.
The intentions were bad, but An Su managed to execute them well.
He stared at An Su with a look of disdain.
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To be fair, he didn't want to take on either of them as his disciple.
Just guarding the door was tiring enough; freedom was so much more comfortable.
Taking on a disciple had already been the result of much negotiation between the Church and Merlin himself; it was unthinkable to take on another.
Since there was only one spot available, let them compete for it.
Fighting could be quite entertaining.
His Excellency Merlin watched An Su, with a mischievous smile on his lips; life as a gatekeeper was boring, but watching a fight was interesting and served as his post-dinner amusement.
"Woo." An Su was still unable to speak.
"Your 'Judgment of Light' now has only one branch, and that branch also contains only one Magic Circuit,"
"To truly perfect this holy-level magic, you need to continue to build branches on your own, what to do next— you can no longer copy mine."
Merlin regarded An Su's sniveling appearance and found that silence from the young man was truly golden.
"To integrate a new branch, you must first understand a new concept, the new branches are derived from reflecting on this new concept,"
"Ordinary magic requires only consideration of the Magic Circuit, but holy magic involves considering magic branches; the former is like 'twigs,' while the latter is like 'trunks,' thousands of twigs converge into three trunks, and trunks form the tree."
"For you, a saint, these are still too advanced. The seventh floor of the [Library] in the Association has the knowledge you need, but only members of the Association can enter,"
"Become a member of the Magic Association first, that is, a deacon."
An Su realized that the library His Excellency Merlin spoke of was also a church world, and not of low Rank either.
The Magic Association's heritage was indeed formidable.
His Excellency Merlin, uncharacteristically speaking so much in one breath, paused, then impatiently waved his hand at An Su,
"Understand this and leave quickly."
He was already tired in his heart and did not want to see An Su's face anymore.
It was already the fourth day, and Merlin's three days of rest had been completely wasted.
"Woo." Who would have thought, An Su still didn't leave, pointing his finger at Merlin again.
What, are you dissatisfied?
This is your punishment.
It was kind of him to explain so much all at once, having done more than enough already.
His Excellency Merlin didn't like being pointed at.
He knew what An Su wanted to say, it was nothing more than seeking more knowledge, probing for more secrets— he had seen too many of such insatiable children and had always ignored them.
"I don't want to hear you talk," Merlin huffed, "The silence will be lifted automatically once you are out of Heaven's Gate, now scram, and by the way, there's something waiting for you at the entrance."
Merlin's mouth bore a stern smile, his cardinal bishop's robe fluttering without wind, stars and Holy Light weaving between, his pure white eyes as sacred as a deity, radiating an ancient and majestic aura.
"I have other things to busy myself with."
Merlin indeed had matters to attend to; he had to settle accounts with those old, undying bishops of the Church, particularly Bishop Randal of the Order Church who had agreed to take turns on watch but hadn't shown up for a year.